


Crossed Wires.

by Lady_Talla_Doe



Series: nutvember 2020 [3]
Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: Accidental Stimulation, Alien Biology, Alien Cultural Differences, Ambiguous/Open Ending, M/M, Misunderstandings, Shocking I know, Touching, brief meantion of Andorian Saf plant, sexpollen used as a plot device and not porn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:41:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27382108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Talla_Doe/pseuds/Lady_Talla_Doe
Summary: Jonathan Archer might not know a lot about all these aliens he's been encountering but he'll be damned if that will stop him from showing them a little good old fashioned earth hospitality. Even if his ignorance leads to uncomfortable situations.tdlrArcher touches Shran inappropriately while offering assistance.
Relationships: Jonathan Archer/Thy'lek Shran
Series: nutvember 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1996978
Comments: 2
Kudos: 51





	Crossed Wires.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Melibell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melibell/gifts).



> its been YEARS since I last watched Enterprise, thanks Mel for the crash course on Andorians.  
> nutvember prompt 'sensation play'

* * *

* * *

“Captain, I’m detecting a signal. It appears to be Andorian.” T’Pol paused, reading her display, and looked up at Archer. “It appears to be a distress signal.”

He looked concerned. “Do we know what the problem is?”

She shook her head once. “No. The signal is badly degraded. It seems to be incomplete.”

“Prematurely sent?” Hoshi suggested.

Archer considered it.

“We should check it out, just to be careful.”

~*~

The signal led to a small planetoid locked in tidal orbit with a gas giant. It had breathable atmosphere, but the temperature was well below what humans found comfortable. Regardless, Archer insisted on going, and Malcolm accompanied him. They slid down the slippery terrain as they exited the shuttle, landing in a pile of snow. It took a moment to get themselves sorted out, but once they were up, Malcolm turned in a slow circle, and then pointed towards the rocky outcrop maybe two hundred metres away.

“It’s this way, Captain. We’re quite close.”

Quite close of course didn’t mean anything in the sub-zero temperatures, and they made poor time through the snow. But the suits kept them warm, and Archer found he was sweating by the time he reached the mouth of the cave, no more than a dark gash in the rock face from where they had stood previously.

It opened into a small cavern, set down from the opening by a two foot drop. No snow had blown inside, but it was frigid. A small beacon was set up at the mouth, the power conduits visibly damaged by falling rock. Malcolm knelt to examine it, and Archer wandered farther in. there wasn’t much light, but he thought he spied a figure crumpled in the far corner.

Approaching slowly, he froze in shock. “… _Shran?_ ”

The Andorian was awake, barely. He squinted at Archer, his antennae slow to respond, and strange coloured. Archer crouched down, resting a hand on Shran’s shoulder. “Shran, it’s Jonathan Archer, from the _Enterprise._ We got your signal. Where’s your ship? What happened?”

Shran blinked blurrily up at him, his blue skin flushed darker, looking confused.

“Gone.” He said, after a moment. “All gone. It got into the air system… We crashed.” He shook his head. “It shouldn’t have been there.”

Archer frowned, concerned, and knelt on the cold stone in front of Shran, running his ungloved hands comfortingly over the Andorian’s shoulders. The man shivered, and leaned into him; he was wearing only what Archer normally saw him in, and although he knew Andorians were tough, it was bitterly cold. Jonathan closed his arms around Shran, rubbing one hand in slow circles over his shoulder blades.

“Shh, it’s okay. We’ll get you out of here.” He assured him, when Shran shivered, pressing closer. It was very unusual behavior for the smaller man, normally so hostile and tense, and it had Archer worried. He gathered Shran against him, resting a hand against the back of his neck as the shorter Andorian wound his hands in Archer’s jacket front, and clutched to him, before his knees buckled and Archer had to catch him. He could hear him breathing heavily, and although Shran still seemed to be conscious, his eyes open, he was hanging stunned in Archer’s arms.

“Malcolm! We need to go!” it was a struggle to try to pull his gloves back on with the weight of Shran resting against him, but Archer managed. He shrugged the unresponsive man closer, looping an arm around his waist, and cradling the back of his head carefully. _Please don’t be hurt_. If he’d been seriously injured, and Jonathan had moved him and made it worse, he’d never forgive himself.

“Enterprise,” he didn’t like to resort to this, but despite his height, Shran was heavy enough that Archer wasn’t likely able to carry him back to the shuttle.

 _“Yes, Captain,”_ Answered T’pol.

He hesitated, “Malcolm, can you take the shuttle back on your own?”

“Yes, Captain. Won’t be an issue.”

Archer let out a slow breath, and it frosted in the air, swirling around Shran’s antennae.

“Two to beam up.”

~*~

_Three hours later_

“Captain, I do not see how you could claim to not have known. It was very inappropriate.”

“How could I have known?” asked Archer, with no attempt to keep his voice down.

“I sent you—” she started, and he interrupted her.

“The reading, yes. I—” Archer sounded flustered.

“Glanced at it.” T’pol finished.

Shran scrunched his brow. The last voice he wanted to hear on waking was the strange Vulcan from that pinkskin ship. They were too close; he could smell the Vulcan, and he didn’t like the scent. Shran cracked his eyes open, and scowled to see the pinkskin captain Archer was sitting at his bedside, the Vulcan science officer of his at his elbow.

“There are better places for this conversation, I’m sure,” he said sourly.

They both turned to look at him, with identical expressions that said they had forgotten he was there.

“Apologies. We were told you would sleep for some hours more. You had a very large dose of Saf in your system.”

Trust a vulcan not to pull punches. Shran winced as he pushed himself up to sit against the pillows; the room tilted and span, and he took a slow breath, waiting for it to pass. His body was still out of sorts from the drug.

Archer was avoiding his eyes.

T’pol looked between them, and decided to speak for her captain. She tapped the screen of her PADD, and handed it carefully to Shran, making certain their hands didn’t touch.

“Doctor Phlox discovered it when we brought you on board. You were exposed to a very large dose of Saf, large enough that it could not have been accidental. We believe you were drugged, to what purpose I do not know.”

Shran took the PADD, scrolling slowly. It said more of what she had told him, with blood tests and scans.

“Your ship is not destroyed, as you seemed convinced when Captain Archer found you. Your crew is well, although they too had been exposed. We have contacted your people to inform them of this incident, and intend to stay with your ship until an escort ship arrives, in case whoever attacked you returns.” The Vulcan was crisp and to the point, and Shran shifted uncomfortably.

“…Thank you.” He said softly.

He looked pointedly at the pinkskined captain Archer. His ridiculous skin was even pinker than usual, and he kept looking away, rubbing the back of his neck. Shran wasn’t an expert by any means, but he remembered well enough those last few moments after he’d been found – wrapped in Archer’s arms, as the human seduced him with skillful touches, and then subdued him. His skin still shivered with pleasure, as he remembered it.

Admittedly, Archer's words did not match with his behavior, so Shran had to assume they had major differences that would need to be discussed.

Even if that had been the most attractive proposition Shran had ever had made to him.


End file.
